


History Has Its Eyes On You

by Bronte



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Angst, Evil Lila Rossi, F/M, Hamilton Lyrics, Identity Reveal, Inspired by Hamilton, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Remember Say No To This?, Romance, prepare yourself, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25132789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bronte/pseuds/Bronte
Summary: And the world suddenly knew her name.Marinette Dupain-Cheng.Her name was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.A Hamilton AU.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 89
Kudos: 117





	1. Alexander Hamilton

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to yet another ML musical AU! I tackled Mamma Mia and now it's time I tackle Hamilton! Please be advised that although this fic is rated T, that may change to M when I get to 'Say No To This'. There will also be swear words because, you know, it's Hamilton. 
> 
> Alternatively, this fic is called SIT DOWN YOU FAT MOTHERFUCKER (and read my story!)

#  The Ladyblog 

### Ladybug: A French Legacy 

  
By Alya Césaire  
Senior Journalist  


  
  


How does the daughter of an Italian baker and a Chinese immigrant grow up to be a guardian and a hero? Living smack dab in the center of Paris, Ladybug went undetected for years by working a lot harder and being a lot smarter. By fourteen, she was in charge of saving Paris and every day while akumas ripped our city apart, she struggled but always kept her guard up. 

  


Inside, she longed to be part of something normal but as the attacks got worse and Le Papillon reigned, she saw her chances to be a regular teenager wane. So she did the only thing she could and built a team around her, unwilling to budge and unwilling to barter with the enemy until the word got around all the way from New York City to Cape Town. Ladybug and her team were an unstoppable force, a hurricane...until disaster came.

  


And the world suddenly knew her name.

  


Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

  


Her name was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

  


And there were a million things she never got the chance to do.

  


All because we couldn’t wait.

  


When she was fifteen, the Guardian of the Miraculous split, leaving her as the sole protector of the universe as we know it. Young and barely keeping it together, Marinette knew she had to fend for herself if she ever wanted to succeed. Her school credits and future at stake, she started working harder, reading every book and studying every suture so she could be a self-starter. She hustled and created with every scrap of fabric she could get her hands on and paved her way to become the successful businesswoman we know today.

  


Because in Paris, you can be anything.

  


Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The industry was hungry and she was waiting in the wings. When she broke onto the scene, she treated her craft like she was Ladybug. She would never back down. She would never take her time. She was steadfast, she was stubborn, she was determined to thrive and climb.

  


Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her enemies destroyed her anonymity, threatened her reputation. She worked her way up from the bottom and was torn down before the nation. So when our streets are magically overrun again, will Paris know what she overcame?

  


Will they remember her name?

  


Chat Noir fought with her.

  


Bridgette died for her.

  


Paris trusted her.

  


Adrien loved her.

  


And Lila Rossi was the damn fool that exposed her.

  


There’s a million things she’s never done.

  


But if she ever comes back...

  


Just you wait.


	2. Andrew Burr, Sir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad everyone is interested so far! As for the plot, I plan on making a few creative choices around the plot and the characters. Obviously, this is placed in the ML canon universe (with powers, of course), just like the Mamma Mia AU was. So I'll be taking liberties (we're not in 1790s New York City LOL) and, as an ode to the show itself, I'll be sneaking in some rhyming verses here and there too. Is it a little silly? Yes, but I hope you have as much fun reading it as I am writing it!

_2021  
Paris, France _

Marinette grits her teeth and sits down beside her childhood nemesis, “It seems like we’ve been paired up.”

“That depends,” Lila’s lips quirk with disgust, “I could just as easily get you expelled and work on my own.”

“And then I’ll send that video of Ladybug calling you a big fat liar to Alya,” Marinette folds her hands across her lap and smiles, “We have one project left before we never have to see each other again. Let’s just get it done.”

“Fine.”

The task is quickly sorted out with minimal chatter between them. It’s a simple presentation on the French Revolution and they’ve been assigned Marquis de Lafayette to prepare a speech about. The sweltering heat of June bakes the asphalt outside the library window as the end of her last year as a lycéenne looms directly ahead of her.

“I’ll do the introduction,” Lila grumbles, staring at the Chromebook in front of her, “You do the second part.”

“At your service,” Marinette snips back, turning her part of the speech pink in the shared Google Doc, “I heard you needed this credit or else you wouldn’t graduate.”

“Just shut up and work,” Lila slams her digits down on her keyboard. Marinette would have teased her more if she wasn’t in the exact same scenario as her adversary; after too many missed classes, this French culture course was her last saving grace before writing her _Bac_.

“Sorry for trying to be polite,” Marinette puts the finishing touches on her next paragraph, “I’m seeking an accelerated course of study at the school I’m going to next year so that’s why I’m taking this extra course.”

It’s a half truth, but Lila latches on anyway, “Well, that’s what I’m doing too.”

“Is that so?” Marinette smirks, “What school did you get accepted to?”

“As if I’d tell you.”

Marinette knows full well that she’s not enrolled to go anywhere. Lila had tried to get into The Conservatory for Performing Arts and Design, the greatest school for artistic education in Europe, but all of the lies on her application had led to an encounter with the bursar so embarrassing, it had trended on TikTok. 

“Like I said, sorry for being polite.”

“Ugh,” Lila continues to work, ignoring Marinette entirely. Truly though, she kind of feels bad for her; right before Lila and her mother moved to France in 3ème, her father’s dying wish before he passed was for Lila to do what he had done and go on to become a famous actor. The CPAD was where he had gone and the fact that Lila has been more or less banned from the school property was a kick in the teeth to her entire family legacy, “Let me offer you some advice, Dupain-Cheng.”

“I’m dying to hear it.”

Lila’s glare could cut through glass, “Talk less. Work more.”

“Oof. Could the kettle get any blacker?”

“Shut up,” Lila growls, “Idiots like you who run their mouths end up ruined.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a warning.”

The bell rings. Their presentation for next period is nearly complete.

“I guess it’s show time,” Marinette picks up her belongings and leaves Lila behind.

~

“Partayyyyy!!!”

Marinette giggles and wraps her hand around the neck of the wine bottle sitting on Alya’s nightstand. It’s a Friday night and since she turned eighteen just a few weeks ago, she and her friends are getting a little quality fun time in before spending the rest of the weekend hungover and studying.

“At my house is the place to pre, two shots of vodka and I’m working on three!”

 _“Ohhhh!”_ Rose wolf whistles as Alya downs her cherry flavoured vodka, “You’re so lucky your parents work evenings!”

The latest Harry Styles album blasts through Alya’s crappy Bluetooth speaker and Marinette bobs to the music, her mind already fuzzy, “My parents go to sleep at like, 20h. I have to be _sooooo_ quiet when I sneak out!”

“Girl, you’re so bad!” Alya snickers, reaching over and refilling both Rose and Juleka’s shot glasses, “You sure you don’t want any of this?”

“I’m good,” Marinette declines, gesturing to her own bottle of cheap rosé. As much as she’d like to take shots with her friends, she needs to keep some sense of reasoning in case Le Papillon decides to ruin her night, “You know me, I’m suuuch a lightweight!”

“She really is,” Bridgette’s head pops up from the other side of Alya’s bed, having finally a plug to charge her phone, “One time, we were at a family reunion at our uncle’s restaurant and a bunch of us found this bottle of wine—”

Marinette facepalms, “Oh god, don’t tell them that one—”

“—and Marinette just chugged it and started coughing everywhere! The rest of us tried it and it was awful but Marinette being Marinette—”

_“Stooooop!”_

“—she drank the rest of it and within, like, five minutes, she was throwing up all over the bathroom. It got on the floor, the mirror, everywhere!”

“And _that’s_ why we don’t let her drink too much on the houseboat,” Juleka wraps her arm around Marinette’s shoulder, “Pour another round Alya, and then we should go. We don’t want to get there too late.”

“Let’s cheers!” Rose raises her glass in a toast, “To almost being done with school!”

Bridgette grins, “To scoring an internship in Paris!” 

“To finally having my big brother back in town!”

“To getting my acceptance letter for my journalism major!”

“And to hopefully becoming the prodigy of CPAD!” Marinette clinks their glasses together, “As long as I pass the rest of my courses…and get that scholarship I applied for.”

“They’d be idiots to reject you,” Alya winks, “You’ve been hauling ass lately.”

“Well, no matter what happens,” Marinette pushes herself to her feet and plants her hands on her hips, “I’m not throwing away my shot!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Conservatory for Performing Arts and Design (CPAD) is totally fictional post-secondary school but very important to the plot I'm building here. And if it wasn't totally obvious already, I have Bridgette included in the plot as Marinette's older cousin. I didn't feel comfortable taking a canon character and giving them the Laurens treatment 😬.


	3. My Shot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went full tilt with this part! I hope you enjoy the verses I threw in here for fun!

“Yas Queen!”

“I’m gonna get that scholarship to CPAD! I shouldn’t brag but my fashions are kinda highkey. The problem is that my grades are kind of a sham,” Marinette grimaces and swallows a mouthful of wine, “But I’ve been hustling my clothing line on Instagram. I’ve been working, like, every single second of my day just to make sure my examples blow the judges away.”

“I can’t believe how gorgeous all your pieces are.”

“She’s going to grow up and be fashion’s biggest star!” Bridgette elbows her in the ribs, “I still can’t believe that she’s only eighteen!”

“My girl is like a couture clothing fashion machine!”

“My fashion application is going to blow their minds! And it’s going to leave everyone else’s behind.”

“M-A-R-I-N-E-T-T-E! The next Gabriel to be!”

“Well, I don’t think I’m that good,” Marinette’s already red cheeks flush even further, “He hasn’t taken on a design student in years.”

“But you could be the next one!”

“I could.”

“Don’t be shocked when you see her on TV,” Bridgette brags, “She’s smart.”

“Feisty!”

“And really hungry,” Marinette rubs her growling belly, “Where’d you put the gummies?”

“Right here,” Alya chucks them at her, “Come on, it’s time to take a shot!”

“I dream of life without school,” Rose sighs, resting her chin on Juleka’s shoulders, “Why can’t we just win the lottery and tour around the world as Kitty Section?”

Juleka snorts, “Because life doesn’t work that way.”

“I’m with you,” Bridgette refills her glass, “But we’ve all got to make our mark. And speaking of, we should really get going.”

“Oh my god, we’re going to miss the train if we don’t leave, like, five minutes ago.”

“Oh by the way, I think your pants look hot. Where did you get them?

“They’re a Marinette original. We’ve got to get her in front of a crowd!”

“I promise that I’ll make you proud!”

They scamper down the steps of Alya’s apartment and spill out into the summer streets, giggling and laughing as they make their way towards the metro station. Passerbys stare and laugh as they sing together, arms slung over shoulders, smiles on their faces. It’s the best Marinette has felt in months and it shows, her voice echoing down the boulevards like she’s shouting from the rooftops.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Her spirits raised, they catch the train right as it’s about to leave and hustle on, teetering in their heels from the acceleration. She thinks about how much happier life would be like this, free and unburdened from the weight of the world on her shoulders. Being the sole guardian of the Miraculous and the hero of Paris is hard enough, but passing school and getting into the design program? 

She knows she can do it. She can do anything if she puts her mind to it.

She’s just gotta rise up! 

Rise up to the occasion!

Gotta rise up!

Against Hawk Moth’s invasion!

Gotta rise up!

To protect her very nation!

Gotta rise up!

Spread the word on every station!

“It’s our stop!” Alya declares, tugging her human chain of drunk and giddy girlfriends out onto the platform. They manage to climb their way up to the streets and turn the corner, their party pad coming into view. Marinette’s fought so many akuma’s on the roof of _Le Grand Paris_ that the place makes her queasy but she hopes that, after tonight, her positive memories of this place will supersede all of the negative ones.

She has to make this moment last!

Later, surrounded by her friends on the dance floor, she’ll cheer as Nino hoists her up on his shoulders. Living fast, she’ll party hard tonight and be ready to face the world, her load a little lighter than it was before. There’s nothing like letting loose a little, especially when you’re the only thing standing in the way of the end of the world.

And when it comes down to it and she’s face to face with her nemesis, rest assured…

She is not throwing away her shot!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a board member of the "Let Marinette Have Fun" club. I hope you liked it!


	4. The Story of Tonight

Wasted in the back of an Uber at three in the morning, Alya leads their chorus, “We may not live through our exams.”

“We may not live through our exams!”

“But we will gladly do our best.”

“But we will gladly do our best!”

“And when we get into our programs.”

“And when we get into our programs!”

“We’ll be living #blessed.”

“Oh my god,” Juleka snorts, burying her face in the crown of Rose’s hair, “Your rhymes—”

“—are killer, yes, I know,” Alya snickers, “Raise a glass to freedom! There’s only two more weeks to go!”

“Raise a glass to the five of us!” Bridgette holds her iPhone up like she’s about to toast, “Let’s have another round tonight.”

“I’m too drunk,” Marinette groans into the side window of the Uber, “No more rounds, I’m out.”

“Then raise a glass to the four of us!” Rose, the resident heavyweight cries, “Tomorrow they’ll be more of us!”

“Hungover? Yeah,” Juleka mutters, her eyes closed.

Alya swipes through the hundreds of pictures she’d taken, “We’ll be telling the story of tonight for months to come.”

Marinette can feel her head throbbing already, “But for now, I’m just gonna sleep it off.”


	5. The Schuyler Sisters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I care that I'm the only person who wants this?
> 
> Not in the slightest.

Cracking his knuckles, Luka slings his guitar over his shoulder and splays his arms wide, “We’re here, boys. Welcome to Heaven.”

“Uh…” Adrien trails off, “This is the Seine.”

“ _Exactly_ ,” Luka’s wolfish grin gleams in the sunlight, “This is where all of the most beautiful, creative women in Paris come to hang out.”

“Bro, did you forget I have a girlfriend?” Nino raises his palms in question.

“We don’t stop going to museums just because we have paintings on our walls,” Luka leads the boys along the banks of the Seine, “There’s this flat stretch on the Rive Gauche, just down from le Pont Alexandre III. Sometimes I go down there with Juleka to play guitar for inspiration, but since ‘M. Newly Single’ here needs a breath of air, I figured a trip down to _enjoy the view_ wouldn’t hurt.”

“I’m not looking for a rebound, Luka,” Adrien responds, his voice gravelly; after breaking up with Kagami last weekend, Adrien hadn’t been able to hold it together for longer than an hour or two.

“You’ll be changing your tune soon enough,” Luka grins, gesturing to a group of girls all hanging out on the quai in front of them, “Especially after you’ve appreciated all these girls at work.”

“He’s here! Luka!”

The future rockstar grins as Juleka runs over and squashes him with a hug.

“Adrien!”

The model follows the familiar voice and spots Rose waving from a picnic blanket.

“And Nino!”

The latter waves back a little sheepishly, “I gotta be back home by sundown.”

“A little teenage rebellion won’t hurt you,” Luka calls over his shoulder as Juleka drags him to their spot on the Seine. Adrien shrugs at Nino and decides to follow him.

“Dude, remind me what we’re looking for?”

“Well, look around,” Adrien’s smile returns for the first time in a week, “I don’t want a girlfriend again, but Luka’s right. There are a lot of pretty girls here.”

“Hey now, I thought I was your number one.”

“Bro!” Adrien bumps his best friend in the shoulder, “You’re my soulmate, dude. I love you. But Father would never approve of our love and I kind of need a date for the Gabriel summer ball.”

“ _Ohh_ ,” Nino’s grin stretches across his face, “You are lookin’ for a little action!”

“Not exactly,” Adrien glances towards the gaggle of girls and hopes to high heaven that his assumption is correct, “A friend of mine says she hangs out here all the time. I’m hoping to find her and ask.”

He ignores Nino’s gawk of confusion and enters the fray, sidestepping around all of the ladies living their hot girl summer dreams. Between the bikinis and the coy smiles sent his way from every direction, Adrien tries desperately to keep his focus. Ladybug mentioned on patrol a few weeks ago that she comes down to sketch on this exact quai all the time and this is his chance to find her!

“There’s nothing like summer in the city,” Luka snags Adrien and Nino by the elbows and drags them over to their group of friends, “Look at how lucky we are to be alive right now!”

A raven-haired girl in a bathing suit that leaves absolutely _nothing_ to the imagination nibbles on her lower lip as he walks passed. Adrien shakes his head; there’s no way that could be his lady. She’s always been much more modest than that, “Y-yeah.”

“Look around, look around,” Luka waves his hand before them like he’s presenting them on a platter, “History’s happening in Paris. Future models, artists, fashion designers…they’re all here in the greatest city in the world.”

“No kidding,” Adrien responds, distracted. He’s made a mental grid of the flat expanse beside the Seine and so far, none of the girls with black hair fit his description. Gorgeous, but modest. Black hair, blue eyes. Holding a sketchpad. 

Holding a sketchpad…

_No way._

Adrien loses all sense of feeling in his legs as he follows Luka to the picnic blanket. His friends and classmates all sit around, snacking on baguettes and grapes straight out of the container. He knows they’re there, Alya and Rose and Juleka and Mylène, but he doesn’t really see them.

Because he only sees _her_.


	6. Farmer, Refuted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun one to write ;)

“Heed my words, Paris! I am Mayura and I am here to share a message from Hawk Moth himself!”

“Oh my god,” Ladybug rolls her eyes, crouching behind a chimney. Only ten minutes ago, she’d been enjoying her afternoon on the quai with her friends (and  _ Adrien!!!!) _ until Mayura has to come and ruin her day, “Are you serious right now?”

“Go on, M’Lady,” Chat’s smile hasn’t left his face since he’d bounded up beside her, “Tear her apart!”

“Citizens of Paris!” Mayura announces, her voice magically amplified from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, “Chaos and bloodshed are not the solution! Don’t let this continue! Hawk Moth is merciful!”

Unable to help herself, Ladybug makes herself known, “Merciful? Are you kidding me?”

“Give us Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous and Paris will never be attacked again!” Mayura’s eyes shoot daggers at her spotted nemesis, “Don’t listen to the—”

“—garbage coming out of your—”

“—he will reward you, he has your best interests at—”

“—hard to listen to you with a straight face—”

“—these heroes do not speak for me!”

“Chat Noir could argue more skillfully!”

_ “Hey!” _

“Ladybug is playing a dangerous game!”

“Then why’s Hawk Moth the one to blame?”

“I know that you’ll come join our side!”

“Honestly, are you high?”

“Join us!”

“Not a chance.”

“JOIN US!”

“For God’s sake!”

“He will reward you—”

“—if you repeat yourself again I'm gonna—”

“Please—”

“—stop talking, nobody’s going to take your—”

“Quiet!”

“Don’t tell me to be quiet!” Ladybug throws her arms into the air, “No one will listen to you! Why should the people of Paris, the ones you terrorize on a daily basis, want to help the two of you?”

Mayura growls, “Then, I suppose I’ll have to up the stakes.”

“How about—”

“—silence! A message from Hawk Moth is coming!”


	7. You'll Be Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me for imparting the mental image of King George Hawk Moth sing spitting during this chapter.

“You have  _ got _ to be joking...” Ladybug facepalms, her attention now drawn to the horde of butterflies in the shape of Hawk Moth’s head rising from _ le Champ de Mars _ . Mayura disappears before Ladybug can wrap her head around the situation and with a heavy groan of contempt, Ladybug and Chat Noir make their way towards the Eiffel Tower.

“You say,” the gigantic face of Hawk Moth begins, “the price of these jewels aren’t a price that you’re willing to pay? So you grieve, and I akumatize all of Paris week after week. Why so sad? We could make arrangements concerning your fealty to me. But you’re making me mad! We could all stop this fighting if you’d see the light and break free.”

Chat Noir and Ladybug roll their eyes in perfect unison.

“Join my side. Soon you’ll see, this can all be done without fighting. No more feuds, no more wars, I think it’s time we both settled this score.”

“There’s too many akumas to capture,” Ladybug eyes the cloud of cursed creatures with a frown, “I guess we’re just going to have to listen to it talk.”

Chat groans, “God, I hate this guy.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Oceans rise, empires fall!” Hawk Moth cries, “And I’ll stop this war once and for all. But if push comes to shove, I’ll akumatize all of Paris to remind you of my love!”

_ “Yeesh,” _ Chat leans against his baton and tries not to laugh, “He sure drives a hard bargain.”

Ladybug shudders, “Is he...humming?”

Undeterred, Hawk Moth continues, “You say this war is draining and you can't go on! But you see, you'll be the one complaining if I don’t get what I want!”

“Alright, enough is enough,” Ladybug unholsters her yoyo and begins to let it fly, “What do you think about helicoptering yourself right through this little charade?”

“It would be my pleasure, M’Lady.” With a jaunty wave, Chat extends his staff to the height of the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug watches with a smirk as Chat swan dives from the top and slows his descent by spinning his weapon above his head, dispersing the butterflies everywhere.

“Thanks for the heads up, Hawk Moth!” Ladybug calls from the base of the tower, “But no one’s going to be joining your side any time soon!”


	8. Right-Hand Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favourite chapter so far!

Marinette holds the acceptance letter in her shaking hands, the breath utterly sucked from her lungs. She didn’t get the full three year scholarship to The Conservatory for Performing Arts and Design, no, but the €5000 grant will definitely help her succeed for the first few months. She’ll be able to pay for her tuition for her first year at the CPAD and afford enough fabric and sequins to fund all of her projects.

_‘…You have also qualified for the CPAD fashion internship program. This is our most exclusive fashion and design program opportunity and we have accepted only the finest applicants since our founding in 1904. Your name has been submitted pending your acceptance…’_

“Oh my god!” Marinette’s heart kicks into high gear, “I’m going to be a fashion intern!”

“I’m so proud of you, Marinette!” Tikki snuggles against her wielder’s cheek, “This is your big break!”

“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid,” the heroine spins in her office chair and squeals, “So what if I don’t come from a rich family? I always knew that if I worked hard enough, I could get into the CPAD and now I have!”

“You rose up to the occasion!” Tikki sends a spray of sparkles into the air, her own tiny fireworks, “You’re going to do great!”

“And there’s only one designer out there I want to intern with,” Marinette clenches her fists and stares out of her bedroom window, a determined gleam in her eyes, “I want to be Gabriel’s right hand woman.”

~

“Here he comes,” Nathalie murmurs to the bodyguard from the corner of her lips. The gorilla, as he’s affectionately known as, simply grunts in response. 

_“Augh!”_ Gabriel tears around the corner, his entire outfit askew. Unwilling to be fired this afternoon, Nathalie doesn’t bother pointing out that his Miraculous is showing, “I’m _through_ with this contract! Call that ingrate in Milan and tell him he can have his order my way or in a shredder!’

“Of course, sir.”

“And while you’re at it, find me another marketing firm. I fired them this morning!”

“I’ll look into it right away, sir.”

“And I need another assistant at the head office. That imbecile quit after I akumatized him for the third time. You think he would have _learned_ from the error of his ways.”

“I’ll contact the CPAD and see if they have any student interns available.”

“I don’t want a student!” Gabriel spits, “I need someone who’s actually capable of taking direction!”

“You’ve been blacklisted from the hiring agency,” Nathalie reminds him, “You’ve fired every single office temp they’ve sent you, so they cut your contract last month.”

Gabriel pinches the bridge of his nose, “I’m underfunded, understaffed…just find me someone useful!”

“Yes, sir.”

The fashion mogul retreats to his office and slams the door behind him, slumping in his office chair, “I’m the greatest of the greats, the venerated genius behind the brand! Everyone lines up to put me on a pedestal, embellishing my elegance, my eloquence, my intellect! So what is going on?! Why isn’t anything going my way?”

“Any hope of success is fleeting,” Gabriel braces his forehead on his hand and feels the ennui of his incredible brilliance weigh on his shoulders, “How can I continue to delegate my design responsibilities when the people I hire keep retreating? I need to stop the bleeding…I can’t keep doing this when I need to be focusing on saving my wife! _Augh!”_

Snarling, he spins around and turns towards the enormous golden portrait looming over the atelier, “I’m underfunded, understaffed and undermined by that insect and her little pet! I need to make a stand…and I’m going to need an assistant — a right hand man. With the company managed, I can bring Ladybug and Chat Noir down and rob them of their advantages. They’re children! It’s not like they have actual responsibilities to distract them, like I do. And my employees, these _idiots!_ They’re skittish cowards, always giving up on me. This is mass mutiny! Are these the imbeciles with which I am to create greatness? I can’t be everywhere at once, I need assistance!”

Nathalie, having walked in halfway through Gabriel’s monologue, simply waits until he takes a breath, “I have two candidates on the line, sir.”

Gabriel spins around and storms towards her, “Who?”

“Lila Rossi, sir. She’s indicated that she’s interested in taking more of a behind the scenes approach to the business.”

“I hired her for her face and her proximity to my son,” Gabriel deadpans, “She’s delusional if she thinks she has the mental capacity to keep up with my creative prowess.”

“Would you like to speak to her or not?”

Gabriel flicks his wrist in her general direction, “She has thirty seconds.”

Nathalie’s lip quirks as she brings Lila’s call up on the iPad, “Be quick. M. Agreste is very busy.”

“Of course,” Lila smiles from behind the screen, the perfect picture of ambition, “Hello, M. Agreste. I’ve had the pleasure of working under your tutelage for three years as a model for your brand and I think I could be of some assistance. I’m bright, capable and I already understand the workings of a photoshoot because I’ve been featured in so many of them. I’m most definitely the best candidate for the position and I know that you need an assistant with all of the qualifications and character traits that I embody in spades.”

Gabriel scowls and gestures with his chin for the call to be muted, “Who’s the other candidate?”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Interesting…” Gabriel trails off, his lips pursing in concentration. The girl is intelligent, creative and shows promise so long as she keeps her mouth shut. The incessant drivel that he’d been forced to listen to in the years that he’s known her…perhaps he could recommend a clause in her contract about keeping verbal noise to a minimum, “Talk less, smile more….put her on the line.”

“Be quick. M. Agreste is very busy,” Nathalie repeats herself, this time in front of the hopeful face of Marinette. She turns the iPad around and faces it in Gabriel’s direction.

“H-hello! Um, M. Agreste, I want to formally submit my candidacy for the role of your assistant. I just got accepted at the CPAD and I’m really looking forward to learning more! I love designing and creating clothes and I’ve won a couple of competitions and one of them was for a hat, do you remember? Anyway, I—um, well, I think that I’d be really good at this and I hope you can give me a chance to prove myself!”

Gabriel exhales; he’s definitely putting in that silence clause, “Nathalie, put them both on the same call.”

“Yes, sir,” Nathalie responds, doing exactly as he asks, “Gabriel has made a decision.”

“The better candidate is clear,” Gabriel glances down the length of his nose, “Mademoiselle Rossi, your role will remain as it stands in the business.”

“But—”

“End the call,” Gabriel says dismissively, turning his attention back onto Marinette, “Your reputation precedes you, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, but I have to ask. Why have you not sought the internships of other brands?”

“Because yours is the best, Monsieur,” Marinette responds, “And you haven’t taken a design student in a long time. It would look good on my CV.”

Gabriel’s lip quirks, “I was just like you when I was younger. I interned for Savant Dugard.”

Marinette gasps; the late designer was known for acting like a powder keg about to explode.

“This internship will be the most challenging venture you will ever endure,” the designer warns, watching the girl’s face closely, “And I will fire you in a moment’s notice if you so much as put a toe out of line.”

“I understand.”

_Click._

_~~Boom.~~ _


	9. A Winter’s Ball

Dressed to the nines in a strapless Gabriel gown straight off the runway, Lila Rossi scrapes her blood red lacquered nails down the varnished railing of the staircase. She’s annoyed, to say the least; How did such an ugly, middle-class art freak like Marinette Dupain-Cheng score a fashion internship with the greatest designer of all time over her? She’s the one who’s been modelling for him for years! It should have been hers! And now that talentless clout-chaser has swooped in out of nowhere and stolen what rightfully belongs to Lila Rossi, Italian model of modern couture!

And of course, Lila will never be satisfied with being second best.

Through the fashion grapevine, Lila learned that Marinette had accepted Gabriel’s job opportunity right on the spot. Lila’s not that surprised to hear it, honestly, since the little _puttana_ always acts like an over-excited dog over the stupidest of things. _Ugh._ Marinette obviously doesn’t deserve the honour of being Gabriel’s right hand woman but somehow, she’s still interning with the man two weeks later. How is that even possible? The fact that she hasn’t been fired astounds Lila more than anything, but the model happens to know all-too-eager Marinette like the back of her hand. Marinette wants to design clothes, not watch Gabriel make them. And Lila intends on exploiting that as best she can.

For now though, she just plans on enjoying herself this evening. She has eyes to catch (like Adrien’s) and haute couture designers to woo. And, after all, there are so many handsome men in the room! Looks, wealth, proximity to power…all things Lila is ready and hungry to devour.

Nothing less can be expected of Gabriel’s summer ball, of course, and his greatest female model will be the envy of them all.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment if you enjoyed!


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